Related Tags:

BOSTON (CBS) — Richard Sherman may be the biggest generator of discussion of debate during the NFL season, and he’s not letting the offseason from stopping him in the spring.

Writing for Sports Illustrated’s Monday Morning Quarterback, Sherman wrote about the Eagles’ decision to release DeSean Jackson last week amid rumors of “gang ties.” Having grown up in the same area in Los Angeles as Jackson, Sherman wrote extensively about why athletes don’t always “distance themselves” from people they grew up with.

“we can’t push people away just because they’re not as successful as us,” Sherman said. “I can’t change who I grew up with, but what I can do is try to educate them on the right way of doing things, help them when they need it, and try to keep them out of trouble. …Iif they’re accused of a crime, as DeSean’s friends have been, should that reflect poorly on me? Consider that for every several guys I try to help who end up dead or in jail, there’s another person I was able to rescue from a similar end. Should I give up on everybody out of fear of being dirtied by the media?

“Sorry, but I was born in this dirt.”

Sherman went on to point out the hypocrisy in the Eagles for their handling of Jackson as it stands in contrast to their handling of Riley Cooper, who last summer was shown on camera using a racial slur in a very negative way while at a concert.

“This offseason [the Eagles] re-signed a player who was caught on video screaming, ‘I will fight every [expletive] here.’ He was representing the Philadelphia Eagles when he said it, because, of course, everything we do is reflective of the organization,” Sherman wrote. “But what did they do to Riley Cooper, who, if he’s not a racist, at least has ‘ties’ to racist activity? They fined him and sent him to counseling. No suspension necessary for Cooper and no punishment from the NFL, despite its new interest in policing our use of the N-word on the field. Riley instead got a few days off from training camp and a nice contract in the offseason, too.”

Sherman also wrote about the media’s compassionate treatment of Colts owner Jim Irsay, who was arrested for driving while intoxicated and had drugs and money in his car at the time of the arrest.

“Nobody suggested the Colts owner had ‘ties’ to drug trafficking, even though he was caught driving with controlled substances (prescription pills) and $29,000 in cash to do who-knows-what with,” Sherman said. “Instead, poor millionaire Mr. Irsay needs help, some wrote. But DeSean Jackson is the menace, right?”